President Jagan praises country for bringing more women into labour force by Michelle Elphage Guyana Chronicle September 10, 1998 GUYANA has been seeing a significant increase in rural-to- urban migration and a swell of women in the labour force, the United Nations Human Development Report has indicated. President Janet Jagan, at the launching of the report yesterday at the Park Hotel, while praising the country for it's incorporation of more women into the labour force, noted that the Gross National Product (GNP) per capita still remained low. "It shows that women's share of the adult labour force was 20 percent in 1970, and in 1995, it was 33 per cent. So there has been an increase in women's share of the labour force," the President noted. "Guyana is listed in the medium Human Development range, leaving Haiti behind in the low human development range where we once rested...however our GNP per capita remains in the lower income categories," Mrs Jagan pointed out. Guyana ranked as 100 in the Human Development index of 174 developing countries. Its GNP per capita, at 1995, stood at $3,205 President Jagan in her remarks indicated that the Report should be seen as a reference for Governments of what is taking place in the world. She stressed that it is really a process of enlarging people's choices. "It is an indicator of how the countries of the world are doing. There are numerous tables and information which help to indicate the positions of the developing countries and the developed countries as regards economies, their health, education, sanitation, the gender perspective, the distribution of their work force," the President said. Mr Andrea Tamagnini, United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) interim Resident Representative, who handed over the Report to the President, said that this ninth edition of the Report shows a consumption boom during this century. "This has significantly contributed to human development," Tamagnini declared while noting that consumption per capita has increased steadily in developed countries for the past 25 years... "dramatically in East Asia and at a rising rate in South Africa". But the top UNDP official pointed out that the expansion in consumption has not impacted equitably among the different classes of people. "A human development that remains fragile and reversible in the face of human poverty and deprivation continues to be a formidable challenge," Tamagnini contended. "Gender inequalities have not yet been eradicated and disparities between rich and poor, urban and rural and among people do remain...It is clear that there is urgent need for further expansion in consumption and changes in consumption patterns." He stressed the collective responsibilities of Governments to ensure that the "poor of the world" are not left out. Tamagnini appealed for the promotion of technological innovation, improvement of information and awareness on consumption issues and strengthened international cooperation, to ensure that the consumption needs of all are met. Yesterday's programme was chaired by Justice Donald Trotman, President of the United Nations Association of Guyana, and it featured a presentation from Father Malcolm Rodrigues, Coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission, Diocese of Georgetown.